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A group of robed figures cuts through the dense fog that
fills the corridors surrounding the library. At this hour the night air
smells of fog and the harbor that cradles the immaculate white city. Another
gray-clad shape emerges from the portal, silhouetted by its blue luminescence.
The figure glides down the stairs and nods at a passing sentinel as he
makes eye contact with him and smiles. He then quickly makes his way into
the structure that stands before the portal. The carved marble sign mounted
to the wall of the structure is legible in the faint blue light of the
portal: "Temple of Divine Light."
The robed group stops before the temple's gold inlaid door
and waits in silence. The fog and faint blue glow turn them into ghosts,
waiting before the temple in the hope of some word of release. Release
and salvation are thoughts that ride through the air tonight, but our
figures are not thinking of themselves.
It isn't long before this image is shattered by a burst
of candlelight, as the temple door opens. The figures in the doorway bow
quickly to each other and the gray robed individual steps back into the
corridor. His eyes meet those that lie just below the cowls of the gray
robes that stand before him.
"It is time for us to begin," he says in a voice
that is almost as featureless as his face and garb. "They have annotated
the locations for me on the map. Our journey begins once the others are
informed. All of you, be cautious but quick."
The hooded apparitions nod in response in almost perfect
unison. The speaker's hands quickly articulate, calling into existence
a small shimmering blue star. The star blinks and expands, becoming a
sparkling ring framing what looks like a picture of another place. The
figures step through the portal, their gray robes seeming out of place
on the green grass of the picture they have become part of.
A brief blue glow is all that remains moments later, and
it quickly fades. As a roaming sentinel walks around the corner as the
air finally settles. She tilts her head in the hope of catching the noise
again. She could have sworn by Prexus that she heard someone recite a
phrase that will only carry meaning much later in her life
"May the Name find a tongue and may the Balance
be met "